OPINION COLUMNS

The Wise County Messenger has gone back to the future and brought back the midweek paper.

We decided the best way to keep you informed is to return to our status as a semi-weekly paper with Wednesday and Saturday editions and up-to-the-minute breaking news posted at wcmessenger.com. The Wednesday paper replaces the free All Around Wise edition that was delivered to your mailbox every week.

To help bridge the gap and transition readers from the free publication, the Messenger is offering a $15 subscription special for a limited time. This gets you two newspapers every week, all of our special sections, plus full access to our digital products.

The midweek paper will have the expected coverage – breaking news, heartfelt features and stories following local entities, as well as some of your favorites from All Around Wise. Renowned rodeo writer Brett Hoffman’s column will be in these pages every week, as well as Extension agent Tanya Davis’ column and the news briefs, to keep you up-to-date on community events.

We’re also moving a few regular pieces from the weekend paper to midweek, including the education page, which features a different school district every week. We still welcome submitted news and photos and will run them in both editions, depending on the topic and space available.

In other words, there are no significant changes to our content, we’ve just modified the vehicle. The most significant difference to you will be a little pocket change, which is why we’re asking you to subscribe.

In just 14 days, we’ve had 267 people take advantage of our special to start new subscriptions and 121 of our faithful readers have used it to renew theirs. I can’t say that I blame them. At only $15 for one year, that’s about 14 cents per edition, plus the convenience of it being delivered to your home.

That’s $15 for coverage and content that you can’t get anywhere else – not on TV, not from another newspaper and not from your Facebook feed. Of course, if you don’t get around to subscribing, you can buy the paper off newsstands for $1. We’re happy to serve you that way, too, and want to make access to local news as convenient as possible.

If you’re a new reader, welcome to the Wise County Messenger and a super-size helping of great journalism. We look forward to getting to know you and interacting with you on these pages, on our social media platforms and around town.

If you’re a longtime Mess reader, thanks for valuing our product and recognizing the importance of being informed. We hope you enjoy the return of the midweek paper and that our journalism provides an even deeper connection to your community.

To subscribe, or talk to a reporter about an issue you want covered, call 940-627-5987, or drop by our office at 115 S. Trinity St. in Decatur.

Kristen Tribe is the Messenger’s publisher.

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